CB Bureau‘We are lucky to have supportive families to have broken the
glass ceiling, but the reality out there points out that we have a long way to
go. I would say rural India is kinder to the girl child than the economically
empowered urban India. Going by the statistics, in rural India the female:male
ratio is 946/1000, while in urban India it is worse at 900/1000. Sadly, this is
contributed by places like Haryana, Punjab and Ahmedabad,’ said journalist Rasheeda
Bhagat while speaking at Summit of SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneur Council
(SCWEC) in Chennai, on November 28.
Speaking at the plenary session, Radha Parthasarathy shared
her inspiring vision of transforming Thandalam village by empowering women
through formation of self-help groups that produce curry powder.
‘Today, village women are confident and disciplined as any
city bred woman. We now get orders from big corporate houses for curry powder
hampers. The entire village is now empowered,’ said Parthasarathy.
Actress Rohini urged women to opt for cinema as a career
option and highlighted various technical fields of the industry where women are
joining. Janaki Pillai from Ability Foundation called to corporates to hire the
differently abled as a HR requirement and not as a CSR activity.
Sharon Apparao of Apparao Galleries said, ‘Art is a big
diplomatic tool. It is beyond all boundaries and people can effectively
communicate the messages across. This field is young in India and offers a lot of scope.’
SCWEC offers a platform for key women entrepreneur
organizations from SAARC member countries to accelerate the process of economic
and social development through friendship, trust and understanding.